Karoline Leavitt Struggles to Name Who the US Is Negotiating With in Iran
Karoline Leavitt faced pointed questions at the White House after she was unable to say who, specifically, the United States is negotiating with in Iran. The tense exchange came as President Donald Trump said he would extend a ceasefire indefinitely while waiting for what he called a unified proposal from Iranian leaders.Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, the press secretary was asked who was in charge in Iran and who the administration was negotiating with. Rather than naming an official or institution, Leavitt said, 'Well, we obviously know who we're negotiating with because our negotiating team has sat down with those individuals in person. But obviously, there's a lot of internal friction and internal division, which, again, just proves the effectiveness of Operation Epic Fury in the first place'.Karoline Leavitt Struggles To Clarify Who Represents IranLeavitt then added, 'Their regime and many of its leaders for nearly five decades have been wiped off of the face of planet Earth'. She moved to another question as reporters asked why Iranian state media were still mocking Trump while the White House said discussions towards a peaceful resolution were continuing.One reporter pointed to mixed messages coming from both sides, noting that Trump had said he did not want to extend the ceasefire before later declaring it would continue indefinitely. The reporter also cited Iranian broadcasts saying, 'We didn't even request the extension of the ceasefire', and asked how the president would respond.Leavitt answered by warning reporters not to 'take anything they say at face value'. She said, 'The response is you guys all see a lot of different messaging coming out of Iran, a lot of different rhetoric and language from them. I would caution you to take anything that they say at face value. What we've seen is that what they say publicly is much different than what they concede to the United States and our negotiating team privately'.She closed that exchange by saying, 'I have said that repeatedly to all of you in the news media and you should take our word for it', before moving on. The questioning came a day after Trump announced the ceasefire would remain in place.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the United States had agreed to hold its attack on Iran because the Iranian government was 'seriously fractured' and Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had asked for more time. He wrote that US forces would continue the blockade and stay prepared while waiting for Iranian leaders and representatives to submit a unified proposal.That decision also came after the White House postponed Vice President JD Vance's expected visit to Islamabad for further negotiations. Tehran, however, appeared reluctant to take part in more talks, adding to uncertainty over who could speak for Iran in any formal discussion.Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, escalated tensionsfurther in a post on X after American forces boarded an Iranian oil tanker earlier on Tuesday. He said, 'Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation. Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying'.Iran's mission to the United Nations also accused Washington of breaching the ceasefire, saying the boarding was 'a grave breach of international law, a clear violation of the ceasefire, and an act of aggression marked by the hallmarks of piracy'. With public statements growing sharper, Leavitt's inability to identify the negotiating counterpart left a central question unresolved as the administration pressed ahead with talks.
